Social Media

A new campaign from Microsoft repeats what many reviewers have noted about Windows Phone: It's comparable or better than its iPhone and Android-based competitors.

The effort, which rolled out on Thursday morning via Windows Phone's Facebook Page, shows Microsoft evangelist Ben "The PC Guy" Rudolph who bets consumers $100 that Windows Phone is faster than their phone.

The challenge, which is sure to provoke online debate, involves activities like posting pictures to Facebook and finding music. The push, which also includes the Twitter-friendly hashtag #SmokedByWindowsPhone, comes as Windows Phone's market share hovers around 2%, according to Canalys. That's particularly frustrating to Microsoft because, unlike past attempts at mobile operating systems, Windows Phone 7, released last fall, has actually gotten glowing reviews.

Mashable editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff also raved about Windows 7 last November, calling it a "good — possibly great — mobile platform." However, the platform has a lot to overcome, including Microsoft's reputation for so-so, me-too products (like its Zune MP3 player) and, perhaps more cripplingly, the lack of dedicated apps for the OS.

Thus the new campaign, which should be familiar to those of us old enough to remember the Pepsi Challenge ads, which are clearly evoked. Microsoft, however, has tried the comparison technique before without a great deal of success. Most notably, in 2009 with a series of ads called "Laptop Hunters" that demonstrated Windows-based laptops' value over comparable models from Apple. That campaign didn't dent Mac sales in the least.

BONUS: Nokia Lumia 800 with Windows Phone

Nokia Lumia 800: What You Need to Know

It's Like the N9...But Not

The Lumia 800 is nearly identical in appearance to the N9, Nokia's first -- and last -- MeeGo handset.

Like the N9, it sports a beautiful polycarbonate body with a curved glass screen, a rear camera with LED flash and edges that feel great in the hand.

Screen

3.7-inch AMOLED with Nokia's ClearBlack technology. This is Nokia's version of Super AMOLED Plus and is designed to look good indoors and out.

The screen has a resolution of 800 x 480, which is standard for Windows Phone devices.

Camera

The Lumia 800 has an 8-megapixel camera on the back. This is an auto-focus camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and a LED flash.

The camera also records video in 720p at 30fps and saves files as MPEG-4 for easy uploading to web-based video services.

Processor

Like all Windows Phones, the Lumia 800 has a single-core processor. This one is a 1.4Ghz processor. The phone also has 512MB of RAM, which is also standard for Windows Phones.

Storage

The Lumia 800 has 16GB of onboard memory and is not expandable. Users get 25GB of free space using Microsoft's SkyDrive service that is built into Windows Phone 7.

OS and Other Apps

The Lumia 800 runs Windows Phone 7.5, also known as Mango.

Nokia also announced that it will be bringing some special services to its Windows Phone devices, including:

Nokia Drive - Which is a turn-by-turn voice navigation app that works in more than 100 countries. This app is free for Lumia 800 users.

Nokia Maps - Nokia's flagship mapping program is available for the Lumia 800.

Nokia Music and Mix Radio -- Access to the Nokia Music Store in 20 countries and Mix Radio in 12 countries.

Battery, Body and Weight

Nokia claims 9.5 hours of 3G talk time, 55 hours of music playback and 7 hours of video playback.

The phone is made out of a single piece of polycarbonate and is 12.1mm thick and weighs five ounces.

It has a power button, dedicated camera button and volume keys. It's available in cyan, magenta and black.

Price, Availability and the U.S. Question

The price before taxes and subsidies is €420, or $584 US. The phone is currently available for pre-order in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK and it will be available in those countries next month.

The Lumia 800 will be in Russia, Singapore, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan before the end of the year. Nokia hasn't confirmed that the phone is headed to the U.S., other than to say it is planning to release a "portfolio of products" in early 2012.

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